This invention discloses a new diffuser for reducing turbulence within laminar nozzles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,160,086 granted Nov. 3, 1992 is directed to alighted laminar flow nozzle for use in decorative water fountains and industrial applications. It includes fluid flow through a double-walled bladder-like fluid supply hose 32 into a fluid chamber 10 and through a diffuser material 20, past trapped air pockets 18 and exiting through a knife edged orifice 12. The fluid nozzle is mounted upon one or more stages of vibration dampening springs 30, and the outlet orifice 12 is located off center from the walls 11 of the fluid chamber so that pump surges and vibrations are greatly dampened and the output fluid stream 14 is sufficiently laminar that light is conducted through the length of the output fluid stream 14 similar to a fiber optic cable.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,641,120 granted Jun. 24, 1997 is an improvement on the first described patent 5,160,086. This patent 5,641,120 includes an improved method and apparatus for obtaining a laminar stream of fluid flow including providing a generally cylindrical outer wall 13a, a generally cylindrical inner wall 14 defining a generally cylindrical outer chamber 13; introducing fluid into the outer chamber 13 tangentially at 12, directing fluid flow within the outer chamber circumferentially through chamber 13; providing an inner chamber 36 defined by the generally cylindrical inner wall located within or below the outer chamber 13. An opening 33 is formed in the lower portion of the inner cylindrical wall 14, which causes fluid to flow downwardly through the opening 33 from the outer chamber 13 into the inner chamber 36. Located within the inner chamber is a diffuser material having a plurality of parallel fluid flow paths. Fluid is caused to flow through the diffuser material to dampen major currents of fluid velocity. The diffuser material to dampen major currents of fluid velocity. The diffuser material has an arcuate upper surface 84. Fluid is caused to flow radially inwardly from the arcuate surface through an orifice 20 located above the diffuser material to form a laminar fluid stream.
In FIG. 1, turbulent water or other fluid enters the nozzle body, 2, at inlet port, 1, and encounters the convex surface of a porous filter which has been formed into the shape of a hollow hemisphere, 3, at the center of which is the exit orifice. As the fluid flows through the hollow hemispherical diffuser it has its Reynold""s Number significantly reduced. The energy of any gross turbulences on the convex side of the diffuser tends to be converted to a very great number of micro-turbulences which tend to be self canceling.
Since the diffuser, 3, also shown in FIG. 3, is shaped as a hollow hemisphere centered upon the exit orifice, 4, then all water flowing from the diffuser to the exit orifice has substantially the same distance to travel from all directions. With this low-turbulence fluid all having substantially the same straight-line distance to travel to the exit orifice, 4, there tends to be little new turbulence introduced and the fluid, 5, exiting the orifice, 4, tends to be highly laminar.